Picker arm driving mechanism for stitching machine



April 1958 J. J. FEDEVICH PICKER ARM DRIVING MECHANISM FOR STITCHING MACHINE Fi led. June 2, 1955 s Shets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. JOSEPH J. F EDEVICH ON 0 Ev of |J" 7 Q FHHHHU z w 4 r. t T: Ibrbllluli l lllillmnmn m wl I 'HHIIM H HH IILr kl 4 A mm BMW 1F mm 2 N. ||J|L MALL I ll .7 .7 .r .r .T 1. w n. v k \F 111. V QK min E m ATTORNEYS 2,829,611 PICKER ARM DRIVING MECHANISM FOR STITCHING MACHINE Filed June 2, 1955 April 8, 1958 J. J. FEDEhCH 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JOSEPH J. FEDQVICH By 626 fAgb Au-2% ATTORNEYS A ril 8, 1958 J. .1. FEDEVICH. 2,829,611

PICKER ARM DRIVING MECHANISM FOR STITCHING MACHINE Filed June 2, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. JOSEPH J. FE DEVICH 8Z3 I I? ATTORNEYS United States PatentO PICKER ARM DRIVING MECHANISM FOR TITCHING MACHINE Joseph .l. Fedevich, Canton, Ohio Application June 2, 1955, Serial No. 512,821 9 Claims. (Cl. LIZ-79) jThis invention relates generally to stitching machines for providing a looped pile surface on a fabric backing, and more particularly to improved mechanism for su porting and oscillating the picker arms which catch and holdthe loops as they are stitched through the fabric backmg.

In my copending application Serial No. 504,524, filed April 28, 1955, l disclosed an improved loop fabric stitching machine including a vertically reciprocable needle bar positioned above a moving fabric web and carrying one or more rows of needles for penetrating the web, and onQoii more rows of picker arms oscillatably mounted below theweb for cooperating with the needles to form loops on the under side of the web. Saidapplication disclosed but did not claim the mounting means per se for "the picker arms, and did not disclose any specific means for oscillating the picker arms.

, l t is an object of the present invention to provide novel andimproved mounting means for the picker arms.

Another object is to provide improved picker arm supporting means which allow quick removal and replacement of the picker arms.

A further object is to provide improved picker arm supporting means which will absorb shocks and vibrations.

Another object is to provide novel and improved mechanism for oscillating the picker arms in timed relatiori terse vertical movement of the stitching needles so as 'toform the looped pile surface on the underside of the web.

Further objects include the provision of driving connections for the picker shafts which distribute torque, and ,which are readily adjustable to vary the amount of oscillation.

These and other objects are accomplished by theimproved constructions and combinations comprising the present invention, a preferred embodiment ofwhich is shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings and described in detail-herein. Various modifications and changes in details of construction may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

in-the drawings: l

p l is a vertical sectional view through the table of the improved stitching machine, taken transversely of the path of the web passing through the machine. l

Fig. 2 is an enlargedfragmentary view similar to Fig. ],.showing one end of a picker supporting shaft.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the other end of the picker supporting shaft.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on line 4-4, Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view-taken substantially on line 5-5, Fig. 1 1

gig. 6.isan enlarged sectional view online 6-6 of Fig.5;

Fig. 7 is a view on line 7--7 of Fig. 5, with parts in section.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view as on line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Referring to Fig. l, the table portion of the machine includes frame members 11 at each side of the path of the web, and these members may be carried on suitable supports (not shown). A transverse beam 12 is secured at its ends to the undersides of the frame members 11 by means of bolts 11. The shafts 13 and 14 (Fig. 5) on which the picker arms are mounted are supported at intervals in bearing brackets 15 supported on the beam 12, and are journaled at their ends in oilless sleeve bearings 15 mounted in tubular bosses 17 formed in the frame members 11. Thrust bearing caps 18 and 18' are secured in the bosses. 17 at the ends of shafts 13 and 14, and each cap has an axial lubricant opening connected to a lubricant tube 19. An anti-friction thrust bearing 29 is interposed between each cap and the ad jacent end of the shaft.

As shown in Fig. 5, the frame members 11 have table top portions 21 and 22 extending parallel to the beam 12 and the shafts 13 and 14, and the fabric web passes over these table top portions between the stitching needles and the picker arms. The spaced-apart inner edges of the table top portions 21 and 22 are preferably recessed to provide plate sections 27 are supported. The grating plate sections each have a plurality of parallel grating strips 29 which are uniformly spaced on a gauge conforming to the gauge of the stitching needles and picker arms.

The upper portion of the machine includes a frame (which is not shown in this application) from whicha series of mounting heads 31 depend, and the needle mounting bar 33 is supported for vertical reciprocation on the heads 31. As disclosed in said application Serial No. 504,524, the needle mounting bar 33 may be made in sections connected end-to-end and extends transversely of the machine above the grating plates. Needle retaining bar sections 34 (Figs. 2 and 5) are clamped against opposite sides of the mounting bar 33 for mounting two parallel rows of stitching needles 35, the needles in the two rows preferably being staggered with respect to each other. The needles penetrate the fabric web moving over the table and pass between the grating strips. Below the grating strips the thread or yarn carried by the needles is caught and held by picker arms to form loops.

The picker arms 36A and 36B are held in upwardly extending slots 37 in picker arm holding bar sections 38A and 38B mounted end-to-end in arm mounting bars 39A and 3 33 extending along the upper sides of the shafts 13 and 14, respectively. The slots 37 are uniformly spaced on the same gauge as the needles and grating strips so that there is a picker arm cooperating with each needle to form rows of loopsbelow the grating. The picker arms 36A and 36B are held in the slots 37 by screws 40, and the arms 3613 have a somewhat different U screws 42, and the bars 39A shape at their upper ends from arms 36A, to position them at the proper location relative to the needles 35.

The bar sections 38A and 38B are secured in longitudinal grooves in the mounting bars 39A and 3913 by and 39B are keyed into grooves 43 running along the top sides of shafts 13 and 14, respectively, and secured in said grooves by screws 44. As shown in Fig. 1, the shafts extend the full width of the machine below the grating plates 27 and parallel to the needle mounting bar 33. The bearing brackets 15 which support the shafts between the end bearings 16 are preferably uniformly spaced along the shafts and three such bearing brackets are shown, although the ledges on which the endbars 26 of grating- T-shaped having vertical ribs 46 disposed longitudinally of the shafts 13 and 14, and vertically disposed flanges 47 disposed transversely thereof. The journals for the shafts 13 and 14 are open at the tops of the brackets so that the top portions of the shafts are accessible for removably mounting the mounting bars 39A and 39]?- in the grooves 43. Thus, by removing the screws 44, the mounting bars 39A and 39B can be easily removed and replaced.

The caps 18 are preferably located at one end of the shaft 13 and at the opposite end of the shaft 14, the caps 18' being located at the other ends of said shafts. The positions of the shafts 13 and 14 may be adjusted slightly longitudinally by changing the number of shims 46 between the ends of bosses. 17 and the flanges 47 of the caps 18 and 18'. (See Figs. 2 and 3.) As shown in Fig. 4, the flanges 47 of caps 18 and 18' are secured to the ends of the tubular bosses 17 by screws 48. The end caps 18 are provided with compression springs 49 which abut the thrust bearings to allow some yielding axial movement of the shafts 13 and 14. This construction provides for keeping a constant tension on the shafts to absorb endwise shocks transmitted from the picker arms, as a result of the picker arms becoming bent or out of line, for example.

The deep vertical flange 50 of the supporting beam 12 provides a solid support for hearing brackets 15, and serves to absorb shocks and vibrations caused by the oscillating action of the shafts 13 and 14 and the driving mechanism therefor.

The mechanism for oscillating the shafts 13 and 14 in timed relation to the stitching action of the needles 35, so that the picker arms will catch and hold rows of loops each time the needles pass below the grating strips is best shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. The driving connections with the shaflts are made at intermediate locations along the shafts; in this case, two connections are made as indicated gene-rally at 52 in Fig. 1. These driving connections are spaced at substantially equal intervals between the ends of the shafts to distribute the torque of the oscillating action.

Because the shafts are relatively long and are weakened in cross section by the longitudinal grooves 43 in their top portions, a substantial variation in torque would occur if the driving connections were made at or near one end of the shafts. This would result in improper coordination between the picker arms along the shafts with the stitching needles, causing unsatisfactory operation and probable breakage.

The driving connections 52 are identical so that only one will be described. Each connection includes a lever arm 53 having a semicylindrical groove 54 at its central portion which is keyed to the shaft 14 by key 55 and secured by screws 56. The lower end of the arm 53 is preferably forked to form cars 57 which are pivotally connected to one end of a link 58, the other end of which is pivotally connected to the lower end of a forked lever arm 59. The upper end of arm 59 has a semi-cylindrical groove 60 in which shaft 13 is secured by key 61 and screws 56.

The upper forked end of arm 53 has arms 53' pivotally connected to a connecting rod 62 connected to a turnbuckle 63, and the other end of the turnbuckle is adjustably connected to the stem 64 of a connecting link having a cylindrical journal portion 65. The outer race of an anti-friction bearing 66 is held in said journal portion 65 by a cap ring 67, and within bearing 66 is journaled the eccentric or crank end 68 of a drive shaft 69. The inner race of the bearing is retained by a lock washer 70 and a lock nut 71. V

The drive shaft 69 is journaled in spaced bearing brackrats 72 mounted on the flange 50 of beam 12 by bolts 73, and the shaft is connected at its ends with the two driving connections 52. The means for driving shaft 69 preferably comprises sprockets 74 fixed on shaft 69 and operatively connected by chains 75 to sprockets 76 on the end portion 77' of a power shaft 77 driven by a suitable motor (not shown) and journaled in brackets 78 mounted on frame member 22 by bolts 79. Rotation of shaft 69 will cause reciprocation of the connecting rod 62 and oscillation of the lever arms 53 and 59, resulting in oscillation of the shafts 13 and 14 about their axes.

Referring to Fig. 5, the pivot pins 80 which connect the lever arm 53 to the rod 62 and to the link 58, and which connect the link 58 to the arm 59 all have the same construction, although the pin 80 connecting link 58 and arm 59 is turned end for end relative to the other pins. This construction is best shown in Fig. 6. Each pin 80 includes an eccentric portion 81 between the ears of the lever arms, which are the ears 57 in Fig. 6. The eccentric portion 81 is journaled in the link 58 which connects the lever arms 53 and 59. On the outer end of the pin is a squared portion 82 for engagement by a wrench and an adjacent threaded portion 83. By rotating the pin a slight adjustment is made in the distance between the pivot pins which adjusts the amount of oscillation of the shafts 13 and 14.

Preferably, a knurled washer 84 is screwed on the threaded portion 83 of the pin, and the washer is secured to the adjacent ear 57 by a screw 85. A lock nut 86 is also screwed on the threaded portion 83 in abutment with washer 84. Thus, the washer 84 prevents axial movement of the pin 80 and the lock nut prevents rotation thereof.

In order to adjust the amount of throw or oscillation of the shafts 13 and 14 by rotating the eccentric portion 81 of any of the pins 80, the lock nut 86 is removed and the pin turned by engaging the squared portion 82.

The end portion 77 is axially rotatably adjustable with respect to shaft 77, so that when originally setting the machine the shaft 69 may be timed relative to the stitching action of the needle mounting bar, or in other words, the oscillation of the picker arms timed in respect to the vertical reciprocation of the needles. The end portion 77 is accordingly provided with a cylindrical socket body 88 in which the end of shaft 77 is received.

A driving disk 89 abuts the ends of body 88 and is fixed on shaft 77 by a key 90, and a clamping ring 91 abuts the end of disk 89. The ring 91 is secured to the body 88 by bolts 92 which pass through arcuate slots 92 in the disk 89, so that the disk is clamped between the body and the ring. The inner face of the disk has a projecting dowel pin 93 therein, and the abutting face of the body has a circumferential series of holes 94 for selectively receiving the pin 93. Thus, by removing the dowel pin 93 and rotating shaft 69 slightly to allow insertion of pin 93 in a different hole 94, the relative position of shaft 69 and the picker arms operated thereby' is adjusted for an original setting of the machine. Thereafter, fine adjustments of 'the picker arm oscillation are obtained by ad justing the eccentric pins 80 in the manner previously described.

In operation, the shafts 13 and 14 are oscillated in time-d relation with the vertical reciprocation of the stitching needles 35 so that the fingers 36A and 36B pick and hold rows of loops of yarn each time a stitch is made. Obviously, the throw of the picker fingers must be adjusted precisely to pick, hold and release the loops in the proper sequence during the rapid stitching operation, and the several eccentric pins 80 provide for such adjustment.

The improved picker arm driving mechanism provides for distributing torque along the oscillating shafts carrying the picker'arms, and the shafts are solidly mounted to absorb vibration and yet are yieldable axially to absorb shock resulting from misalignment or bending of the picker arms. The supporting means for the shafts allows quick removal and replacement of the picker arms, as well as precision adjustment of the amount of oscillation of the shafts.

What is claimed is:

1. In a loop fabric stitching machine having a table top frame portion for supporting a moving fabric web, a vertically reciprocable needle mounting bar extending transversely above said table top, and an oscillatable picker arm mounting bar extending transversely below the table top, a shaft coextensive with said picker arm mounting bar and having its ends journaled in said table top portion, said shaft having a groove along its upper surface in which said picker arm mounting bar is directly removably secured, a transverse beam coextensive with said shaft and secured at its ends to said table top portion, and open top bearing brackets supporting said shaft on the beam at intervals longitudinally thereof.

2. In a loop fabric stitching machine having a table top frame portion for supporting a moving fabric web, a vertically reciprocable needle mounting bar extending transversely above said table top, and an oscillatable picker arm mounting bar extending transversely below the table top, a shaft coextensive with said picker arm mounting bar and having its ends journaled in said table top portion, a transverse beam coextensive with said shaft and secured at its ends to said table top portion, open top bearing brackets supporting said shaft on the beam at longitudinal intervals, the upper portion of said shaft being accessible above said bearing brackets, and means removably securing said picker arm mounting bar directly in said upper portion of said shaft.

3. In a loop fabric stitching machine having a table top frame portion for supporting a moving fabric web, a vertically reciprocable needle mounting bar extending transversely above said table top, and an oscillatable picker arm mounting bar extending transversely below the table top, a shaft coextensive with said picker arm mount ing bar and having its ends journaled in said table top portion, a transverse beam coextensive with said shaft and secured at its ends to said table top portion, open top bearing brackets supporting said shaft on the beam at longitudinal intervals, the upper portion of said shaft being accessible above said bearing brackets, means removably securing said picker arm mounting bar directly in said upper portion of said shaft, and means at one end of said shaft for yieldingly absorbing shocks transmitted axially of said shaft.

4. In a loop fabric stitching machine having a table top frame portion for supporting a moving fabric web, a vertically reciprocable needle mounting bar extending transversely above said table top, and an oscillatable pickor arm mounting bar extending transversely below the table top, a shaft coextensive with said picker arm mounting bar and having its ends journaled in said table top portion, a transverse beam coextensive with said shaft and secured at its ends to said table top portion, open top bearing brackets supporting said shaft on the beam at longitudinal intervals, the upper portion of said shaft being accessible above said bearing brackets, means removably securing said picker arm mounting bar directly in said upper portion of said shaft, caps secured to said table top frame at the ends of said shaft, and spring means between one of said caps and the shaft for yieldingly absorbing shocks transmitted axially of said shaft.

5. In a loop fabric stitching machine having a table top frame portion for supporting a moving fabric web, a vertically reciprocable needle mounting bar extending transversely above said table top, and an oscillatable picker arm mounting bar extending transversely below the table top, a shaft coextensive with and directly supporting said picker arm mounting bar and having its ends journaled in said table top portion, means supporting said shaft intermediate its ends, driving connections with said shaft spaced longitudinally thereof between the ends of the shaft, each driving connection comprising a lever arm secured to the shaft, a connecting rod and pivot means connecting said lever arm to said rod, a drive shaft rotatablymounted ijii-' said frame, and eccentric mea'ns connecting said drive shaft to said connecting rod for reciprocating'the connecting rod as the drive shaft isrotated, said pivot means being adjustable to vary the throw of said lever arm. Vi l t l 6. In a loop fabric stitching machine having a table top frame for supporting a moving fabric web and a vertically reciprocable needle mounting bar extending transversely above said table top, two parallel oscillatable picker arm mounting bars extending transversely below said table top in side-by-side relation, two shafts coextensive with and directly supporting said picker arm mounting bars having their ends journaled in said frame, means supportng said shafts intermediate their ends on said frame, and driving connections with said shafts at intervals between their ends, each driving connection comprising a lever arm secured to one of said shafts, a connecting rod pivotally connected to one end of said lever arm, a second lever arm secured to the other shaft, a link pivotally connecting said lever arms, and means for reciprocating said connecting rod to oscillate said shafts in timed relation to the reciprocation of the needle mounting bar.

7. In a loop fabric stitching machine having a table top frame for supporting a moving fabric web and a vertically reciprocable needle mounting bar extending transversely above said table top, two parallel oscillatable picker arm mounting bars extending transversely below said table top in side-by-side relation, two shafts coextensive with and directly supporting said picker arm mounting bars having their ends journaled in said frame, means supporting said shafts intermediate their ends on said frame, and driving connections with said shafts at intervals between their ends, each driving connection comprising a lever arm secured to one of said shafts, a connecting rod pivotally connected to one end of said lever arm, a second lever arm secured to the other shaft, a link pivotally connecting said lever arms, the pivoted connections of the lever arms comprising pins having eccentric portions for adjusting the amount of oscillation of said shafts.

8. In a loop fabric stitching machine having a table top frame portion for supporting a moving fabric web, a vertically reciprocable needle mounting bar extending transversely above said table top, an oscillatable picker arm mounting bar extending transversely below said table top, a shaft coextensive with and directly supporting said picker arm mounting bar and having its ends journaled in said table top portion, means supporting said shaft intermediate its ends, driving connections with said shaft spaced longitudinally thereof between the ends of the shaft, each driving connection comprising a lever arm secured to the shaft and a connecting rod pivoted to the lever arm, a drive shaft rotatably mounted on said frame portion and eccentrically connected to said connecting rod for reciprocating the rod as the drive shaft is rotated, a power shaft having an end portion operatively connected to said drive shaft, and means detachably connecting said drive shaft and end portion for relative axial rotational adjustment.

9. In a loop fabric stitching machine having a table top frame portion for supporting a moving fabric Web, a vertically reciprocable needle mounting bar extending transversely above said table top, an oscillatable picker arm mounting bar extending transversely below said table top, a shaft coextensive with and directly supporting said picker arm mounting bar and having its ends journaled in said table top portion, means supporting said shaft intermediate its ends, a lever arm secured to the shaft, a drive shaft, eccentric and connecting rod means connecting said drive shaft and lever arm for oscillating said first shaft as said drive shaft is rotated, a power shaft having an end portion operatively connected to said drive shaft, and means detachably connecting said drive shaft and said end portion for relative axial rotational adjustment, whereby the relative position of the picker arm mounting bar may be adjusted relative to the position of the needle mounting bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

